Very interesting that “Adore” and “Adorn” appear sequentially on this list. I don’t know if Miguel has ever said it straight up, but I would be surprised if the latter song was not heavily influenced by the former song. Hell, the songs are similar enough that you can take most of what I said about “Adore” and apply it to “Adorn”. I almost lumped them together in one entry, but combining them wouldn’t be fair to either track.
“Adorn” is, simply, a beautifully written love song. The sparseness of the instrumentation (keyboard melody + drum machine + fairly rudimentary synth bass part) allows the listener to focus on Miguel’s stunning vocal. My man’s falsetto game is sick (and is also the only reason I haven’t karaoked this song yet.) I just watched the video (for the FIRST time, believe it or not) as I was writing this, and the (aural, not visual…although Miguel is not a bad looking fellow) chills were real, y’all.
At the 2013 Grammys, Kelly Clarkson spoke for quite a few folks who had their jaws dropped during Miguel’s performance of “Adorn” when she asked “who are you?” That said, y’all were on the same label at the time, Kelly. You knew damn well who Miguel was.
If “Adore” is the first dance at my (not likely to happen and even if it does happen it’ll be one of those Justice of the Peace deals) wedding, “Adorn” will be the second. It turned Miguel from a C-league R&B cat into someone who’s entirely capable of laying claim to the Purple Throne (and he’s gunning for it, if his Dirty Mind-reminiscent last album is any indication).
Fun Fact: according to last.fm, “Adorn” is the most played song in my entire library (and I’ve been scrobbling on this profile for at least six years) and it has nearly double the plays of the song that shows up below it.
Five Star Jamz 